Jonathan Agnew column

They say that Antigua has 365 beaches - one for every day of the year.
The Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound was clearly designed with a leap year in mind because this is Antigua's 366th beach.
Quite how the bowlers will fare here I don't know. One area, where they take off in the delivery stride, is literally a sandpit eight inches deep.
Ryan Sidebottom, bowling left arm over, would not get to the wicket at the Pavilion End and clearly the fielders cannot slide on their knees in the outfield for fear of repeating Simon Jones's horrific injury in Brisbane on the 2002-03 Ashes tour.
The physiotherapists of both teams are worried, but although Alan Hurst, the ICC match referee, described the outfield as unsatisfactory, he also ruled that it is fit for play.
So that is the backdrop to a game in which England will try to lift themselves off the floor. The first job for Andrew Strauss and Andy Flower, therefore, is to make sure that there are no excuses and that the whole team simply gets on with it.
Strauss is a captain who keeps his cards close to his chest and, as such, will not name his team until the toss. A very slow pitch looks unlikely to help anyone, so predicting England's line-up is impossible.
The options are limited, and laudable as it was to bring Adil Rashid on the trip, I wonder now - with the benefit of hindsight - whether the selectors would rather have had another specialist batsman here.
It will be a big surprise if Ian Bell remains in the team, and Owais Shah deserves his chance, but with Alastair Cook having now played 23 innings since his last century, it is not an ideal time to introduce a new number three.
There's also the question of Monty Panesar. He was comfortably out-bowled by Sulieman Benn in Jamaica, and he is gaining a reputation for being unsuccessful on slow pitches.
The big question is how England will respond to their humiliation last week. What will happen should they slip to 20-3? Is there the confidence and resolve in the batting line-up to stave off another collapse?
With Antigua filling up with thousands of England fans, the players will have no shortage of support, but those same spectators - many on a hard-earned trip of a lifetime - will not stand for a repeat of last Saturday's embarrassing exhibition.

England consider Antigua changes

England will consider changes for the second Test against West Indies, which begins in Antigua on Friday, as they look to level the four-match series.
Owais Shah could replace Ian Bell and spinner Graeme Swann and paceman James Anderson are also under consideration.
Having lost by an innings in Jamaica, skipper Andrew Strauss said: "If there were any feelings we'd under-estimate them we're not going to this time.
"We realise we're in a scrap - you only win scraps by being prepared to scrap."
England were bowled out for 51 at Sabina Park last weekend - their third lowest Test total.
"There were a couple of tough days after that Test match when the reality of what had happened sunk in," Strauss admitted.
"I suppose we had to take it on the chin and we had a couple of good meetings about how we can move forward.
"We all realise the only way to overcome criticism is to get it right on the pitch.
"Anything we say in interviews isn't really relevant it's about what we do in the middle and we're very, very motivated to do that this week."

The big game: Kotoko 1-2 Hearts

Accra Hearts of Oak won their first league derby against arch-rivals Asante Kotoko in Kumasi, for the first time in 10 years, to go seven points clear at the top of the league table.
Hearts have recorded 22 points from nine matches while second-placed Kotoko are on 15 points, same as Heart of Lions, Real Tamale United and Tema Youth.
Goals from Eric Gawu and Obed Ansah gave Hearts a 2-1 victory at a jammed, 40,000-capacity Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi on Sunday.
Kotoko's consolation goal was by Stephen Oduro in the 77th minute.
The Belgian coach of the defending champions, Maurice Cooreman, blasted referee William Agbovi for his team's loss, while this victory further enhanced the growing reputation of his opposite number, Kosta Papic, among the Hearts fans.
Under the former Orlando Pirates of South Africa coach, Hearts are playing a lot better than they did last season.

GB close in on Fed Cup play-offs

Great Britain's Fed Cup team gave their promotion hopes a boost with victory over Holland in Tallin, Estonia.
Elena Baltacha and Anne Keothavong won their singles to secure an unassailable 2-0 lead before Keothavong and Sarah Borwell teamed up to win the doubles.
Britain, who beat Hungary on Wednesday, will finish top of Group A if they see off Luxembourg on Friday.
That would mean a place in Saturday's promotion play-offs against another group winner. 
The victor in that tie will reach the World Group II play-offs in April.
Baltacha, the world number 108, got Britain off to a perfect start against Holland with a 6-2 6-4 victory over Michelle Gerards. 
British number one Keothavong, ranked 54th in the world, had a slightly tougher time against talented 18-year-old Arantxa Rus before triumphing 6-4 6-4. 

Keothavong returned to partner Sarah Borwell to a comfortable 6-4 6-0 win over Nicole Thyssen and Pauline Wong.
"I'm pleased with another emphatic victory," said British captain Nigel Sears.

"It's a good feeling to be leading the group after two days but we know we still have work to do if we are going to top the group and gain a place in the semi-finals.

"The team is in great shape and we are looking forward to tomorrow's match against Luxembourg."

Britain are yet to drop a set in Tallinn.

Baltacha posted a 7-5 6-3 win over Greta Arn in Wednesday's 3-0 win over Hungary, before Keothavong defeated world number 25 Agnes Szavay 6-3 6-2.

Borwell and Mel South made it a 3-0 whitewash with a 6-4 6-3 win over Szavay and Katalin Marosi in the doubles.

Britain's women are enjoying an encouraging run of form, with South joining Keothavong in the top 100 this week and Baltacha rising to 108th on the back of a second-round appearance at the Australian Open.

Elsewhere, Jelena Dokic made a triumphant return to Australia's Fed Cup team as they beat South Korea 3-0.

Dokic beat Lee Jin-a 6-0 6-3 in less than an hour on her first Fed Cup appearance for Australia since 2000 following the well-publicised fall-out between her estranged father Damir and the country's tennis officials.

Dokic's last Fed Cup appearance was for her native Serbia and Montenegro in 2004.

Cronulla Sharks call for bigger NRL hand-out amidst financial crisis

The call came as club bosses conceded the worldwide economic downturn meant the game was in a dire financial position and facing an enormous challenge this season.

With unemployment levels tipped to rise, clubs are bracing themselves to take a hit in several areas including merchandise sales, corporate support and gate receipts.

Several clubs are already under the pump with Cronulla taking out a $500,000 bank loan to pay wages and bills over Christmas.

The Bulldogs are still without a major sponsor for 2009, while the Gold Coast has been forced to trim expenditure by 13 per cent.

The NRL increased its grant to clubs by $100,000 this season but has not committed to another rise until it negotiates new broadcasting arrangements after 2012.

Cronulla chief executive Tony Zappia said it would be prudent if the NRL could find additional funding now to assist clubs.

"It's an opportune time if the NRL has surplus funds to increase the grant in 2009 for all NRL clubs," Zappia said.

"A quarter of a million each would be lovely but that may not be possible. Even another $100,000 to everyone's bottom line."

The proposal was welcomed by most club bosses and prompted other suggestions which are certain to be raised at the next chief executives' meeting on March 4.

Manly's Grant Mayer said the ARL and News Limited, joint owners of the game, could defer annual payments of $8million apiece with the money to be redistributed to clubs for the next two years.

"The $16million is divided amongst the clubs to ward off the crisis," Mayer said.

"We understand that development has to be funded so therefore the clubs agree to set aside a portion to ensure the game continues to grow. The clubs have also got to be more responsible and more active in finding revenue but to ensure the product doesn't suffer this may be a compromise worth talking about."

However, Gold Coast managing director Michael Searle said any increase in the grant was tied to the salary cap and could have a negative effect.

"I'd be concerned it would lead to inflationary pressures on the player market and that would send a poor message to our fans," Searle said.

"Maybe a better solution is for us to look for efficiencies from around and within the structures of the game."

NRL chief executive David Gallop said there were no plans to increase the grant.

"We've said for some time we'd like the grant to match the cap but there are lots of mouths to feed in rugby league and it's not possible at the moment," he said.

Bulldogs chief executive Todd Greenberg said it was increasingly likely they would not have a major sponsor this season because of the global credit crunch.

Valued anywhere between $750,000 to $1m, Greenberg said several companies were trying to take advantage of the crisis by offering less than $500,000 to be the club's main backer.

"We haven't secured a naming-rights sponsor yet and in the current climate it would appear difficult to do so in the short term," Greenberg said.

"If we have to go through the season without one we'll do that but we think we'll be able to do something before the end of the season."

The crisis could also flow on to players' salaries with most club chief executives admitting it is almost impossible to find third-party agreements. Most clubs use TPAs as a sweetener to give them an edge over their rivals when negotiating player contracts.

"They'll be just about non-existent because people are cutting back on budgets," South Sydney chief executive Shane Richardson said.

Gallop and chief operating officer Graham Annesley are visiting all clubs to discuss a range of issues including ways to ride out the economic downturn.

Having stated last year he would prop up any club in trouble at the height of the poker machine tax crisis, Gallop reiterated his support in light of the latest threat.

"No club is expendable in our view," Gallop said.

"We've got contractual obligations to provide a certain number of games a week and just as importantly our saturation across Sydney and in certain key regional markets is very important to the long-term future of the game."

Sharapova targets March comeback

Maria Sharapova is targeting a return to competition in March at either the WTA event at Indian Wells or Miami.

The 21-year-old Russian has been sidelined since last August with a shoulder injury that has hampered her for the past two years.

She had been due to play in Paris next week and then Dubai but pulled out of both events because of the problem.

"I have been training in Florida the last few weeks and really working hard," said Sharapova.

"It's really amazing how you can do all the exercises and rehab in the world, but nothing substitutes the time you spend on court running and hitting hundreds of balls.

"Right now I'm aiming for Palm Springs, or Miami, depending on how things shape up."

The former world number one has seen her ranking plummet to 17th during an absence that has caused her to miss the 2008 US Open, the Beijing Olympics and last month's Australian Open.

It is the first time she has been outside the world top 10 since her victory at Wimbledon in 2004.

Aussie Open quotes

"I was completely worried about that. I thought I lost the power with the new clothes. C'mon."
Rafael Nadal sees the funny side when asked if he was worried he might not be able to win in his new non-sleeveless shirts.

"The problem is you can't go in the locker room and just take it easy and take a cold shower. You can't. You know, you're stuck out there. It's the worst feeling, you know. So, I don't know, it's rough."
Roger Federer describes the desolation after losing another five-set final to Nadal.

"Hopefully not too big. I'm not a big fan of receptions. I'd like to sneak out the back door at the airport tomorrow."
Mahesh Bhupathi on the reception he expects back in India after winning the country's first Grand Slam mixed doubles title with Sania Mirza.

"I did most of it."
Mike Bryan.

"You cleaned."
Bob Bryan.

"I cleaned out the garage, dusted it all, put down the carpet and mirror, got the equipment."
Mike Bryan, as the brothers have a domestic over who can take the credit for their new home gym.

"All I know is Serena usually picks up the bill."
Mike Bryan makes plan for an all-American celebration in Melbourne.